Professor J.E. Hosmer

From Free Though Magazine, Chicago - 1898: Professor J.E. Hosmer, whose portrait is the frontispiece of this number of this magazine, was born in Durand, Pepin county, Wisconsin, February 17, 1862. His father, whose name was Albert M. Hosmer, was an industrious, hard-working man, who engaged in various occupations-hotel-keeper, ferryman, stage driver, farmer and carpenter. His mother was an intelligent, worthy woman, whose maiden name was Cynthia Earl.

Young Hosmer attended the district public school in Durand and in other towns where his father's work called him. At the age of eighteen he joined the Independent Order of Good Templars and became a zealous advocate of temperance. He afterwards became a member of the lodge of that order at Rock Falls, Wis., when his father was a farmer near there.

At Rock Falls, by accident, he learned that some of the members of the order were hypocrites, "drinking behind the door," as the saying is, and he was so disgusted with such hypocrisy that he exposed them, and fifteen members, including the Worthy Chief Templar, were compelled to acknowledge that they had violated the pledge they had taken. They were each again reobligated, but the shock was so great that it destroyed the lodge, and it was never again resurrected.

When young Hosmer returned to live at Durand he renewed his membership in the Durand Lodge, became an active member, and was elected Worthy Chief Templar. And, by the way, most of those hypocritical members were either Christians or sons of Christian parents, or believers in the Christian creed, and this episode had a tendency to shake Mr. Hosmer's faith in the efficacy of the Christian religion. Professor Hosmer has always continued to be a zealous advocate of temperance. He never drinks intoxicating liquor, tea or coffee, and has no use for tobacco.

Mr. Hosmer was always very skeptical as to orthodox theology, but when twenty-three years of age he was inveigled into the church by a skillful young preacher.

September 1, 1885, Mr. Hosmer was married to Minnie M. Page, the oldest daughter of Hiram and Mary Page. Mr. Page was a popular dentist. The union proved such a happy one that the husband has great admiration for the marriage institution and could not be persuaded to say anything against it. His intelligent wife is fully in sympathy with him in his reformatory work, and together they labor for humanity in the most cordial harmony.

When Mr. Hosmer became a Christian convert he united with the Congregational Church, and in accordance with his earnest, enthusiastic nature, went to work with great zeal to build up the church. But the trouble with him was, he had an inquiring mind, and sound reasoning powers, and he found it impossible to smother his doubts and do as most of the members of the church did, take whatever the minister said as matter of fact, without thought or investigation.

He says: "I tried to smother my doubts; I prayed over them, and this caused me great mental anguish, and finally I felt compelled to tell my wife that I should have to withdraw from the church." The preacher -urged him to remain in the church, even if he could not believe the creed, but young Hosmer was not born a hypocrite, and even his "conversion" had failed to make him one. He was compelled to be true to his honest convictions, and, regardless of consequences, he withdrew from the church and became a free man.

Shortly after this he was chosen principal of the public school at Stockholm, Wis., and after serving the people in that capacity for some time he decided to take Horace Greeley's advice, "Go west, young man." He and his young wife went to the new state of Oregon and together they taught the Tillamook City school for two years and then both attended the Oregon State Normal School, where they each graduated in 1893, with deserved honors and high-grade standing, receiving the title B.S.D.

They then taught school at Bandon, Ore., one year, after which they visited their old home in Wisconsin, returned to Oregon in 1895, and Mr. Hosmer was elected pastor of the First Secular Church of Oregon, located At Portland. He lectured for that church until June, 1896, when he resigned that position and became the editor of "The Torch of Reason," for the special purpose of building up the first Free Thought university that has ever been established in the world.

Such, in brief is an imperfect sketch of the young editor of that recently established Free Thought journal, "The Torch of Reason," issued each week at Silverton, Ore. It will be readily seen that Mr. Hosmer is a young man that the Free Thought public should be proud of-a young man of high moral character, of superior intellectual ability, of high aims and aspirations, and, what is more than all this, has the courage of his convictions and the earnest determination to accomplish much for the benefit of humanity.

He is just the young man that the Free Thought movement needs; in fact, it is in want of many such young men, and also of such noble young women as is his worthy wife. The Free Thought cause is the noblest and grandest movement the world has ever known. All it needs to revolutionize our imperfect civilization is competent, trustworthy, leaders-such leaders as the anti-slavery movement had in this country. We need young enthusiasts, who are possessed of high character, unswerving fidelity, high aims and aspirations, and who are willing to give their lives to the work of regenerating the world.

Mr. Hosmer seems to be that kind of a man, and we feel sure if the Free Thinkers of this country will stand by him with not only their sympathy but with substantial financial aid, that he will not only make "The Torch of Reason" in truth and in fact what the grand name of that paper indicates-a real torch of reason that shall light up the whole country and drive out the bats and owls of superstition, that only nourish in the darkness of supernaturalism. And who knows but that our young and enthusiastic leader may succeed in establishing on a firm basis, on the Pacific coast, a Free Thought university that shall become the light of the world?

Minnie Page Hosmer - Obituary Notice

From Free Thought Magazine, Chicago - May, 1901: Minnie Page Hosmer, daughter of Hiram C. and Mary Page, was born in Minnesota, March 31, 1867. When quite young she-moved with her parents to Durand, Wisconsin, where she attended the high school until she was sixteen years of age when she begun her be-loved lifework as a teacher. At school, and while taking an active part in the social and educational life of the little city of Durand, she became acquainted with John Earl Hosmer, to whom she was married September 1, 1885.

Mrs. Hosmer was raised in the Congregational Church, and her husband having been converted to Christianity and having joined the same church, their lives were like the harmony of the sweetest music for a number of years. But a little cloud arose. Her husband became a doubter of the miraculous part of their religion and withdrew from the church.

Mrs. Hosmer soon followed him, and although there had never been anything like discord, their life under the influence of the new religion of science and love, became as sweet as life can be to those who struggle in the unequal fight against all forms of evil. In 1890 she came with her husband to Oregon and they took a preemption claim on Netarts Bay. While living there, with him she taught a private school in Tillamook City, and afterwards they were engaged to teach the public school. After having taught there several terms and having a strong desire for more knowledge, she and her husband attended the Oregon State Normal School, at Monmouth, where she graduated with honors in 1893.

A year's teaching in Southern Oregon, a visit to her old home in Wisconsin, a term of teaching in Tillamook County again, leads up to the time when she went to Portland and entered into the work of trying to help save the world by the truth and righteousness of the religion of right living. Those who attended the First Secular Church of Portland in 1894 know what her work was in church and Sunday school; but realizing that more educated workers were needed to accomplish the grand purpose, she became one of the founders of the Liberal University at Silverton. Here she taught until the holiday vacation of 1900 and 1901, when she and her husband resigned for reasons not necessary to be stated here, upon which, we regret to learn, there is a difference of opinion among the friends of the University.

This trouble so worked on her mind, her husband says, that, although she was one of the bravest women, it completely broke her down and brought on the sickness that caused her death. She urged her husband to get ready and go to California, where they might some time build a school of pure Science, Morality and Humanity. She tried to help pack her trunk to go to California, but was unable to do so, and she and her husband decided to wait until her health was better. Her husband says: "She was not easily moved to tears, but the thought of leaving her pupils, her friends and her school was too much for her to withstand, and she cried most of the time for three days, which so worked upon her physical system that it caused her death, which occurred at 9 o'clock p.m., February 1, 1901."

One who has been well acquainted with Mrs. Hosmer for a number of years, writes:

There never was a truer friend, a more faithful wife, a better teacher than this most excellent woman. She was a lady in every respect and, although she had charity for all, she despised everything low and mean, and wanted nothing to do with that which she considered degrading. The young people all loved her and she was always planning some entertainment or work to please them. In 1896 she taught in the public school of Silverton. After she commenced teaching in the Liberal University one of the little boys in the public school continually ran away from school, though a good boy, and he was admitted to the children's class at the University. His father asked him one day if he recited to Mrs. Hosmer. "No," said the little fellow," but she is there." In this expression of a child is the key to her life. She sought not the notoriety that many mistake for real worth, but whoever came into the sunshine of her pure and noble life were made happy; and now that she is gone, those who knew her best feel that her place in the world of humanity will be hard to fill.

We very much regret that anything should occur to hinder the growth and prospects of this new "Liberal University," and we desire to express no opinion as to who is to blame in the matter. The general opinion is that Prof. Hosmer and Mrs. Hosmer were first-class teachers, who had had much experience in teaching, and that their abandonment of the school is a serious blow to it. There was probably a misunderstanding among the friends of the University at Silverton, and that no one intended anything wrong. We think that all Liberals should unite in their efforts to sustain the school and do all in their power to bring about harmony where there is any discord; there would nothing please us more than to see Prof. Hosmer reinstated as one of the teachers and harmony again prevail in this, the only school on the face of the globe entirely free from superstition.

The saddest thing in the whole matter is the death of that grand woman, whose obituary we are glad to publish in these pages. The Liberals of America could do nothing better than to build some kind of a monument to her memory.

We publish below a poem by Mrs. Hosmer that appeared in the Torch of Reason about a year ago:

From Free Though Magazine, Chicago - July, 1901: The obituary of Mrs. Minnie P. Hosmer, in the Free Thought Magazine for May, is liable to lead people to believe two things which are not true, and which would be injurious to the Liberal cause and to L.U.O., viz.: (1) That Mrs. Hosmer was in some way removed, or forced to leave, the Liberal University; (2) and that such removal was the cause of her death. The facts are:

1. Mrs. Hosmer was never in any way removed, nor forced, nor asked to resign, nor was there any desire that she should do so. If forced to resign, or induced to leave the University by any one, it was by her husband. Because the Trustees would not, and could not, give him sufficient stock (without consideration) to enable him to have absolute control of the institution, he, and then she, chose to suddenly resign and drop their duties and obligations to the university. Then they demanded and took from Mr. Geer (for the University) their own valuation of their stock, so that they of their own accord entirely relinquished all interest in or claim upon the University. Then, instead of going to California, as understood they would, they immediately used the proceeds to buy the Silverton Appeal, at which they both went to work heartily. No complaint was made, and no reason was given for their abandonment of L.U.O., except that Mr. Hosmer might want to control the future of the institution, and that he would not be able to do so without majority-control of the stock. All other pretexts were after-thoughts, not known to him at the time, and have been shown to have no substance whatever.

2. The leaving of the University was not the cause of Mrs. Hosmer's death. That she was at first depressed about leaving and going to California was natural, but that was soon relieved by her staying in Silverton with the Appeal. During the time she attended the L.U.O. Friday Evening Literary, and participated in the dances and seemed happy. But she was then not well, but had what was found to be an intestinal trouble, caused, as we believe, by imprudent athletic exercises, and which became gradually worse until it resulted in her death. The cause of her death was not mental but physical-peritonitis; for so the doctors describe it, and so did her husband in a letter of Feb. 12th., which we have.

3. Finally, let it be remembered that there was never any complaint, reason given, quarrel, words, or difference at the University at all. Appreciation for Mrs. Hosmer and sympathy in her illness were expressed by the whole University by resolutions drawn and presented by us and moved by one of the students, and printed in the Torch.

The sudden withdrawal of Mr. and Mrs. Hosmer, in mid-term, without notice or cause assigned, was entirely their own affair and notion. Those upon whom the institution fell, and who are now laboring to sustain it, were in no way responsible for their action, nor for any of its consequences, whatever they were.

From the History of the Catholic Sentinel: "In 1913, the Silverton Journal sent a spy into the Benedictine Sisters' convent at Mount Angel, hoping to get a steamy exposé. When the spy couldn't find any scandal to report, the Journal's editor, J.E. Hosmer, undaunted, made something up. His pamphlet, 'The Escaped Nun from Mount Angel Convent,' or 'The Last Stand of Desperate Despotism,' eventually got him a libel conviction, for which he spent 100 days in jail. He recanted and apologized on his deathbed."